Food. Sleep. Money. It's all they need.

Yesterday we had a fun time in DC. I took my two youngest children (18 and 15) and two of their friends (16 and 17) because we all had a day off. Three of them home school and Abbie's only class for the day was cancelled, so we made the most of our time.

We started out at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where we saw money being printed. The security features are pretty interesting, but the best part was a sign near one of the huge printing machines that said, "I just printed my entire life's salary in 20 minutes."

How depressing.

Anyway, then we decided we would walk down to the Lincoln Memorial, Elijah's favorite. We were cutting across grassy patches and looking for acceptable places to cross the street (we might have jaywalked a few times), when we came across this pseudo-park and stopped for a photo-op:

And then, because they are teenagers and can't be serious about anything, we had to take a second pose:

We made our way toward the Reflecting Pool (not so reflective at this time of year - it's pretty scungy) for a picnic:



And met an official DC duck, who actually ate out of Abbie's hand:

As you can see, it was a perfect day in DC. Here's the view from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial:

After the Lincoln, we wanted to take Joy up in the Pavilion - the Old Post Office tower - to get a great view of the city. It's a long walk. *sigh* They needed a nap. *rolling my eyes* Don't go to the city with teenagers if you don't want to be embarassed.

They're just oversized toddlers. They eat, they sleep, they cost money. But we finally made it to the tower and here's the view down Pennsylvania Ave:

And finally, since we are teenagers and can't do anything the normal way, we decided to walk down the four flights of very narrow stairs in the belltower rather than take the handy elevator. Because we haven't walked enough today. Here's the view:

We made it off the metro before 3, the official start of rush hour. We came whizzing down the entrance ramp to 95 South optimistic as ever and guess what we found.

A traffic jam. On 95. Can you imagine?

I've heard many times that Friday rush hour starts Thursday afternoon, but I always think I'm going to beat it out of there. Someday I might learn. But I doubt it.

It was a great day in the city. Come visit, and let us know you're coming. I promise we won't make you take a nap in the grass.

Be thankful ~

Karen